DeMar DeRozan scored a career-high 42 points and tied his career high with 11 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors beat Houston, 99-96, on Monday night, their eighth consecutive home victory over the Rockets.
DeRozan made a go-ahead turnaround bank shot with...

Russell Westbrook had 33 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from 20 points down to beat the Phoenix Suns, 109-97, on Sunday night in Phoenix.
D.J. Augustin scored 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter...

NEW YORK Right around the time the Oklahoma City Thunder announced Kevin Durant's season was over, the free agency clock began ticking loudly in the heartland.
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick ...
Cavaliers fans remember all too well what...

DeMarre Carroll scored 24 points and the Atlanta Hawks clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 99-86 home victory over the Miami Heat on Friday night.
The Hawks wrapped up the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage in the conference...

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Broderick Turner ranks the 30 teams. Last week's ranking in parentheses; statistics are through Friday's games:
1. GOLDEN STATE: Closing in on franchise-best record, and on home-court advantage throughout West playoffs. (1)
2. CLEVELAND: Whether LeBron James is MVP or not, Cavaliers have lost just seven times in 35 games since Jan. 15. (2)
3. ATLANTA: Hawks, a No. 8 playoff seed last year, clinch top seed in East for just second time in franchise history. (3)
4. HOUSTON: Dwight Howard (knee) is...

HOUSTON Toyota Center patrons appear certain of it, judging by the chants that cascaded down from the upper sections during Friday's 120-110 victory over the Timberwolves.
Rockets guard James Harden, league MVP?
Harden made the case for himself once again on Friday, delivering a 33-point performance and leading the Rockets to their 49th victory in 72 games with star teammate Dwight Howard back for the second game after he missed 21/2 months injured.
While Howard was out with a swollen knee, Harden kept...

Dwight Howard corralled a no-look pass from James Harden along the baseline and went up quickly for a forceful one-handed stuff.
That first-quarter highlight alone would have been a promising sign for a Rockets squad gearing up for the playoffs. Erasing a 17-point deficit on the road against a desperate Pelicans team made for an even more satisfying night.
Harden had 25 points and 10 assists, Howard had seven rebounds and a block on Anthony Davis in his return from a two-month absence, and Houston...

When Heat center Hassan Whiteside said he expected to play like David Robinson, some chuckled. Not me. Aim high, I always say. And that’s aiming high.
But should Whiteside have aimed higher?
To the greatest winner in basketball, Bill Russell?
"I have never said this in the 40 years since I retired," Russell’s Hall of Fame teammate, Bob Cousy, said in the Worcester (Mass.) Telegraph & Gazette. "But he is the first big guy, not (Patrick) Ewing, (Hakeem) Olajuwon, Shaq (O'Neal), who reminds...

Houston's Dwight Howard has returned from a 26-game absence, starting Wednesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The 6-foot-11 center contributed immediately, taking a no-look pass from James Harden on the baseline and throwing down a powerful one-handed dunk for the Rockets' first points.
Howard, who is 29 and in his 11th season, had not played since Jan. 23, when he went out with a right knee injury. In 32 games this season, he has averaged 16.3 points and 11 rebounds.
He has returned...

Kyrie Irving scored 24 points, Kevin Love added 22 points and 10 rebounds, and the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers rolled to a 111-89 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
LeBron James finished with 20 points and Timofey Mozgov added 14 for Cleveland, which won its fourth straight and eighth in its last nine. J.R. Smith had 13 points for Cleveland, which shot 51% and made 14 three-pointers.
Marc Gasol had 18 points for the Grizzlies, who had their three-game winning streak end with their...

Observations from Tuesday's 89-88 loss to the Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center:
-- Can't happen.
-- Can't.
-- Forget No. 6. The battle again becomes making the playoffs.
-- And now it looks like facing the Celtics without Hassan Whiteside.
-- An awful loss.
-- It was shades of the Heat's home loss to the 76ers.
-- Only this one meant even more.
-- The Heat played so well when they were moving the ball.
-- And then they stopped moving the ball.
-- It was a night when Michael Beasley...